Elephant & Castle

[NeverBend]

A friend told me that Pipes Magazine ran an article on Elephant & Castle tobaccos. I'm repeating what I wrote on their forum (below).

Thanks for the kind words Al and to Mr. Randolph for his article.

The idea for a line of tobaccos started in late 1981. I was going to the 2nd Dunhill Main Dealer Conference in London the following April but my real goals were to see C.E. McConnell about making a line of tobaccos for us and to find James Upshall (but that’s another story).

We had wanted two currently available blends, two that were out of production and two blends of mine. We were green and naive and really didn’t understand what we were asking for in the first two instances.

I’d never met Ken McConnell but we hit it off immediately. He apologized and told me that we couldn’t have Red Rapparee and Davidoff’s Royalty as they were proprietary blends (duh). Fribourg & Treyer’s Golden Mixture used leaf that was no longer available and Dunhill’s Shell Mixture couldn’t be made for technical reasons. My two blends he would start on immediately.

I spent two long days with Ken that moved like a blur through the factory and leaf wholesalers but I’ve never forgotten what I learned in that crash course of master tobacco blending or the many other visits that I had with him.

By the time I left I’d suggested these changes:
Adding more latakia and red virginia to Royalty and that became, without further alteration, Cromwell, a medium English that was fuller than Royalty.

Making the Dunhill Shell Mixture as flakes instead of curlies.

Creating a new blend rather than trying to replace the F&T Golden Mixture.

Having Ken make alterations to Red Rapparee since it was a blend that he knew so well.

We hired our friend, artist Anthony Spinelli, to do the artwork for Elephant & Castle (he also did the art for Marble Arch) and he came up with a beautiful design that we decided to repeat in different colors for each mixture. If you look closely at the E&C labels there are small characters on the ground, one freshly stomped by the elephant and another running away as well as “Made in London England” and “E&C”.

When I returned, Rob suggested that we add a shag cut Turkish mixture since Balkan Sobranie had discontinued their similar blend and Ken used 100% kavallah leaf that was more supple and very consistent in burn, flavor and aroma. This became Blue Mosque.

I’d given Ken the formulas for my two mixtures and although he expressed doubts about making a mixture with so much latakia it turned out well and became The Stout.

In 1980 I’d made a mixture at the London Dunhill store that featured cigar leaf from an island in the Caribbean. Ken’s only alteration was to add the superior but more costly Basma A that was more fragrant and this mixture became New World.

I had once expected that the discontinued mixtures, Shell and Golden, would be easy to replicate but they were the ones that proved most difficult. The change from curly to flake cut required alterations that included sourcing and adding Old Belt Carolinas and when we were satisfied this became The Deerstalker. For continuity (and cost) we decided to pack it in a round tin rather than a smaller square one.

The most difficult was the Golden Mixture reproduction that was originally a shag of mostly American sourced lemon virginia that was no longer available. By 1982, India was the main source of these types of tobacco but they were stronger and had more citrus and edge so we had to scrap the idea and make an entirely new blend. I worked extensively with Ken until we’d made a thicker cut (ribbon) that was fuller and more nuanced and that used a wide variety of matured leaf, especially Pekoe Virginia and this became The Roanoke.

The problem child of the line was the one that was originally to have been Red Rapparee. I didn’t realize that I’d not given Ken enough guidance in what we wanted to do with this mixture and there ended up being three different incarnations that finally stabilized in 1985. This mixture is a story unto itself but it was was named Isle of Skye. The other night I started the only tin (from 1985) that I’ve had since 1982 and my ageing method might have some calling for my incarceration and it was, Wow!

In early 1989, Ken invited me and my wife to dine with him and his Danish and German agents at the famous Mount Street restaurant, Scotts, where he made the formal announcement (we already knew) that C.E. McConnell would be closing their doors. It was a bittersweet night.

I’ll finish with a story.

We received a call from an irate smoker (that some, especially from NY may know) who identified himself as Sailorman Jack. He wanted to know how we could be so insensitive to celebrate a genocidal maniac like Cromwell by naming a tobacco after him!

Rob explained that we’d worked off of a base that was Davidoff’s Royalty and that the name was intended to say that, like Cromwell, it wasn’t Royalty.

Jack grunted but accepted the explanation and we had several more nice chats with him afterwards. RIP Jack.

[Branzig]

Great read Pete, and thanks for the insight into the article.

I'd bump your RG, but I love you too much already

Thanks again, I love reading this stuff!

[cpmcdill]

Enjoyed reading this. I didn't know the Deerstalker was your own creation. I hope my review did it justice.

[NeverBend]

Enjoyed reading this. I didn't know the Deerstalker was your own creation. I hope my review did it justice.

Hi Chris,

Making the Virginias, Deerstalker and Roanoke, was like scrambling through a closing door because we wanted them to be ready for the launch, such as it was. Ken guided and mentored me and I'm sure that he kept me from making crazy changes. I hope that he's alive and well and I remember him with great fondness.

Your reviews are all good because you have a good palate and you're honest, so thanks. Had you hated it I'd have wanted to know that too. I wish I had more E&C to pass around but it's nearly gone now.

Pete

[cpmcdill]

Your reviews are all good because you have a good palate and you're honest, so thanks. Had you hated it I'd have wanted to know that too. I wish I had more E&C to pass around but it's nearly gone now.
Pete

I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience a tobacco of such age and quality. I appreciated your generosity in sharing a portion of such a rare blend.

[Tobias Lutz]

Here are my two reviews of Deerstalker- one from Pete, from the original release in 1982, and one from Wayne, circa mid-1980s:

Elephant & Castle Deerstalker (~1986)

Let me just start by saying “thanks” to Wayne for sending me this very generous sample. I was born in ’82, so this is close to my age and it was certainly a real treat to try it. :nod: I’m sitting on a fair amount of tobacco, and I have to say that if 1/10th of it ages like this, I’m giddy just thinking about the prospects for smoking in my retirement. The scent in the bag reminded me of spiced plum pudding, with strong notes of sweet hay. The stuff smelled heavenly! It had a gorgeous sheen comprised of glittery crystals on the flake. It was the perfect moisture consistency as soon as I dumped it out. This started with a nice honey sweetened grassiness that had slightly floral notes, like clover. At various points it became a little bolder with more of a molasses taste, and the faintest hint of white pepper. At no point was it ever sharp or “bitey”- a testament to well “matured” tobacco. The aftertaste reminded me of a fresh corn tortilla- slightly grain like and sweet like Silver Queen corn. The closest thing I can think of ever smoking to this is GH&C Dark Birdseye. Very tasty stuff! I have a couple bowls left and I’m sticking them in a jar for a special occasion.

Deerstalker circa 1982

Observations
This blend was a dark brown, thin sliced flake, with a spattering of unfinished maple colored notes. The flakes were caked together quite solidly (even though they weren’t vacuum packed), and they failed to remain intact when pulled apart. Under the light of my desk lamp I was able to see quite a bit of glittering sugar on the tobacco, sparkling against the espresso background. I thought it smelled like a mix of dry hay and leather- like the tack room in my aunt’s barn. It was very mellow with the slightest hint of something like sandalwood but what really stuck me was how “balanced” all the odors were; none really stood above, or under, the others.
I rubbed a chunk out to produce fine, dry, but not nimble ribbons. I packed using a three step gravity fill method.

It took me three lights to really get it underway, but then the tobacco burned steadily and stayed cool for the duration of the bowl.

The first impression I got was that of clover blossoms- light, with a faint floral sweetness. It had a dry grassiness that was similar to the experience of mowing over sun baked grass clippings. I found it to be medium strength, with qualities that reminded me of dark stoved Virginia. At the very end of the bowl I picked up a touch of citrusy “zing”.

Comments and conclusion
I thought this was a very enjoyable smoke and it reminded me of Butera Royal Vintage (though without much spice). I would prefer this later in the day, and believe it would pair particularly well with a cup of Constant Comment tea.

[Lostmason]

Pete
Thanks for a good read and some insightfull background.

[JustTroItIn]

A member or our pipe club, David, was kind enough to share with me a bowl from his last almost empty tin of Deerstalker. I smoked it in my Kaywoodie Supergrain that Pete gifted me about a year ago on Poof. The tobacco is excellent. When I informed David that the blender was a member of this forum, he called BS until I brought up this thread. David misses your blend very much, Pete, and is not looking forward to the day that final tin is empty.

[NeverBend]

A member or our pipe club, David, was kind enough to share with me a bowl from his last almost empty tin of Deerstalker. I smoked it in my Kaywoodie Supergrain that Pete gifted me about a year ago on Poof. The tobacco is excellent. When I informed David that the blender was a member of this forum, he called BS until I brought up this thread. David misses your blend very much, Pete, and is not looking forward to the day that final tin is empty.

Hi Jack,

Glad that you had a chance to try The Deerstalker and that you liked it.

Please tell David, thanks and that I wish that there was a way to reproduce it but I fear that's not possible.

From the look of the tin I'd guess that it was from the final shipment in early 1989. Not much of the stuff left.

Pete

[NeverBend]

Bump for Chico @c.ortiz108